Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Position Boosted by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Free Report) by 18.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 145,052 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock after acquiring an additional 22,684 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Applied Materials were worth $21,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Applied Materials by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,260,178,000 after buying an additional 253,078 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,663,780,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602,645 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $1,588,422,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $1,356,094,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,954,305 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock valued at $968,349,000 after purchasing an additional 484,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AMAT. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $195.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $235.00 to $195.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.74.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT traded down $2.43 on Friday, reaching $185.69. 6,580,937 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,161,150. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.59, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.69. Applied Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $123.74 and a fifty-two week high of $215.70. The business's 50-day moving average is $177.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.06% and a return on equity of 40.15%. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.99%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In related news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.